Chelsea vs Arsenal LIVE - Marcos Alonso goal seals victory for Blues as Unai Emery remains without a point
Re-live the action from the Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge on Saturday
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea maintained their 100 per cent record in the Premier League this season by beating London rivals Arsenal 3-2, ensuring that Unai Emery's reign as manager remains pointless from their opening two matches.
Pedro and Alvaro Morata threatened to take the game away from a wasteful Arsenal side with early goals inside the opening 20 minutes, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan missing good chances to score for the away side.
But Mkhitaryan would make up for it when he curled an effort past the £71m goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Alex Iwobi quickly cancelled out the lead before half-time arrived with a close-range effort.
The second-half proved a much tighter affair as Chelsea sent on Eden Hazard and new loan signing Matteo Kovacic, but it was the reliable wide option of Marcos Alonso who found the winner to send Chelsea to the top of the table.
Re-live the live action below...
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Preview
Emery and his team have come in for criticism this week from former Gunners greats such as Martin Keown, Tony Adams and Jens Lehmann, and they will be keen to avoid continuing their awful away form last season which saw them win just four games from a possible 19.
A victory for Emery may be difficult to come by though, given that Sarri lost just two home Serie A games with Napoli last season. The 59-year-old will also be eager to win his first home game with his new club in order to continue their winning start to the league campaign and possibly become the early pace setters with Liverpool.
What time does it start?
Chelsea vs. Arsenal kicks off at 5:30 PM (BST)
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD from 5pm. Highlights will be shown at 10:30 PM on BBC One.
It’s a big game for…
Petr Cech: The 36-year-old goalkeeper will be facing his former club this weekend and the pressure on him as gone up a notch after his mixed performance last weekend. His shot-stopping looked sharp for the most part but he was criticised for his part in Sterling’s opener, while his ball-playing ability, part of Emery’s attempt to implement a new style of play, was summarised by an attempted pass to Shkodran Mustafi that nearly ended up in his own net.
Stat…
57: The sides have drawn 57 games altogether in their history, two of which came in the Premier League fixtures last season.
Remember when…
One of Eden Hazard’s best Chelsea moments came against Arsenal in February 2017 when he beat off the challenges of three Arsenal defenders to score a solo effort that was named Premier League Goal of the Month. While a repeat may be asking a little much of someone who has had a little under two weeks of full training, do not be surprised if you see the Belgian complete take-ons against tired opposition legs in his usual elegant manner.
Player to watch…
N’Golo Kanté: Sarri’s new system at Chelsea seems to suit the World Cup winner down to the ground, and his opening goal at the weekend capped off a near perfect performance. Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira has been compared to the 27-year-old Frenchman, and should the Uruguayan start it could make for an interesting clash between the two diminutive midfielders.
Past three meetings…
Arsenal 2 (Rüdiger OG, Xhaka) Chelsea 1 (Hazard), League Cup, January 2018
Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0, League Cup, January 2018
Arsenal 2 (Wilshere, Bellerín ) Chelsea 2 (Hazard (P), Alonso), Premier League, January 2018
Form guide…
CHELSEA: LW
ARSENAL: L
Odds…
Chelsea to win: 4/5
Arsenal to win: 16/5
Draw: 29/10
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
17: Aubameyang tests Kepa with a powerful low drive at the near post but the Chelsea goalkeeper is equal to his effort. He was definitely hoping for an error, or maybe more.
19: Oh no, oh deary me. Aubameyang will not want to watch this one again.
Arsenal put together a really nice move and Bellerin, he pulls it back to Aubameyang who blasts over from the penalty spot.
Alvaro Morata
20: Moments after Aubameyang's miss, Chelsea score!
One long ball over the top sets up Morata one on one against Mustafi. The Spaniard stands him up and superbly finishes beyond Cech, the defender let him cut back onto his right foot which on reflection is a very strange decision.
24: It's really not an exaggeration to say that every time Chelsea attack they look like they are going to score. All of Arsenal's 'defending' is very last ditch and reactive instead of being proactive.
26: Now, stick with me on this one, but Granit Xhaka has been booked. I know, you just have to believe me. He slides in late on Pedro as the winger skips past him.
31: Mkhitaryan does his best impression of Aubameyang and skies an effort which he should really be scoring. Monreal pulls the ball back to the midfielder who meets the ball with the inside of his leg and balloons it over.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan draws one back for Arsenal
39: The ball breaks to Mkhitayran on the edge of the box and this time he is able to finish, and what a finish it was. He strides towards the ball and fires a low curling ball into the corner of the net. Kepa got a hand to it but it was not enough to keep out the powerful strike.
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